Exposed red bricks in a loft? Check. Big screen TV with tons of comfortable seating? Check. Now if this isn't a living room a single bachelor wouldn't dream of kicking back after a hard day's work, we don't know what is...and it was done on a budget - a time budget, that is.
Kara could have fooled us if she hadn't told us the space was a mad 16-hour design exercise to ultimately be used as a movie set piece, but there are plenty of clever elements here that conveys that clean look many of us mid-century modern minimalists (try to say that three-times fast) are always looking to achieve in our more permanent interiors.
"This space needed to feel expensive, masculine, and modern. Using materials like steel and stained wood helped to achieve this. Of course the existing exposed brick and concrete floors fit the theme and really helped as well!"
Using accessories from Anthropologie and combining it with the classic curves of the Eames Lounge Chair and other mid-century pieces, you really get that simultaneous rustic-sleek look and feel. Finally, throw in revamped set of drawers and some DIY art and voila! You now have the perfect balance of minimal, man, and modern... even if it was just temporary for the time being.
Read More: Kara Paslay Designs
(Images: Kara Paslay with permission)






Sprout Side Table
I wonder what movie this is for? I would love to work as a set designer. I find all the behind the scenes movie-making stuff so interesting. :)
I suppose it's impressive that it took 16 hours. All she really had to do was buy (on her seemingly unlimited budget) a sofa, a few chairs and some accessories. It's nice, but... I don't know.... with bones like that, I think it would be hard to go wrong! Beautiful exposed brick and concrete floors are tough to screw up.
ZERO warmth.
Pretty impressive that she revamped the credenza and decorated everything in 16 hours. Props for that. On the other hand it is kinda bland, but may be appropriate for a movie set. For my own home I probably would have used a much larger rug.
Also I'm fairly certain that Eames lounger is a reproduction by a company called Selig.
follow the link to her blog, and then the link to the movie...or take this shortcut
http://www.facebook.com/HomeRunTheMovie?sk=info
either way, i will agree with @whitneyjbee...on an unlimited budget, you can do anything in a small amount of time. i'm trying not to discount her work, but ultimately, she was probably given some sort of direction for the look/feel the director wanted and given the amazing space to work with...so it would just take a run around to a few shops and i think any of my fellow AT readers could throw this together.
Reminds me of the saying that, of cheap, good, and fast, you can generally pick 2, but not all 3. This was good and fast.
Great job Kara! I think she did GREAT for the task/instructions she was given. Kudos!!!
I've been away from AT for a while and now that I'm back I remember why I left. You guys can be so frigging catty and negative. Geesh. The assignment wasn't to make a warm room. That's why there is zero warmth. The assignment was to make the room feel expensive, hence the very noticeably expensive items. Do you people even read or do you come here looking for an opportunity to complain?
not an authentic Eames
Diademydo, I generally find the comments here pretty mild! If you really want to hear the cat calls, you need to go to Curbed.com!
@DIADEMYDO,
the room doesn't look expensive. what was referred to as an Eames Lounge Chair isn't an Eames Lounge Chair, it's a bad copy. this is a place to comment and discuss design. this design doesn't portray its intended purpose. HENCE, negative comments. jeez.
@RLMESQ pay attention. The comments I was referenced said nothing about the cheap copy or the place looking cheap. Actually, I think the discussion of the Eames copy actually adds something interesting to the conversation. I think other than the bad knock-off chair, the designer did a good job. I think a bachelor with money to throw around would have purchased the real deal so he could brag about it.
@LA MARGARITA I am curiously heading over to Curbed.com hoping to be disappointed. lol. Thanks.
Geesh, I meant referencing...sorry.
16 hours.
How many people-hours?
Many of us could do a lot in a short period of time with the right resources.
@ Diademydo - If you're unhappy, maybe you should leave again.
It looks very much like no woman lives there. No window treatments is a guy thing in my limited experience. I had to debate my husband big-time to get window treatments that provided me enough privacy.
My perfect living room!
I know this is a movie set, and not a real loft space, but I notice the fixed windows which seem to be pooping up in a lot of residential buildings these days. Why? Don't people want to let the fresh air in, at least occasionally? In these "green" times, relying on climate control 24/7/365 seems so 20th Century.
I open the windows at every opportunity.
@RLMESQ - agree it doesn't look "expensive" as is....but it doesn't have to look expensive IRL. It has to look expensive on camera....big difference.
If this is a guy's place, it's plenty warm. It's also way too clean and lacks a proper sound system for the television.
@Montemalone: your typo made me laugh.
I love when people don't read the article, just comment on the pictures!
This is masculine, yes, but I don't actually find it that cold. I would if there were no cushions or no rug.
As for the real v copy debate... it's definitely valid, but not in this case. You don't know what Kara's brief was, nor her budget or available manpower.
@Miami's Elaine
I don't have a window treatments. And am a woman. Anecdata. Although I really like the west elm french curtain rods and (in a pretty different vein) the ikea dignitet system. But haven't seen any curtains I actually care for recently....
Randomly, "accessories from Anthropologie" is the last thing I associate with "masculine". XD
@Lepidoptery, I like return and tension wire rods, too, in part because they can cover without gaps at the wall. It is difficult to find good-looking window treatments that do their jobs and aren't too expensive. I've installed mine in layers to get what I wanted, e.g., light control, including making my own curtain panels. Simple curtain panels can be easy to make, even sewing-free.
It looks unfinished to me. Those walls need plaster. I like a brick wall but this one simply doesn't work!
I would kill for a brick wall like that in my bedroom!
@miami's elaine
I think I might wind up getting a bunch of the return rods (since they are on sale after all, and I am weak) and worry about what to put on them later. XD I may wind up just buying a textile I like (not necessarily cheap, either!) and making my own, since I do have a sewing machine languishing away in a closet....
Although the lovely textiles out there aren't necessarily cheap, you'd save on labor costs. You already may have bought textiles for other projects that instead could be made into curtains. Some people use blankets or flat bed sheets, which I read are best dry cleaned. Others use table napkins or scarves as top treatments. I prefer machine washable cottons due to dust allergies. I've hung tablecloths and shawls from no-sew clip rings so they can be returned to their intended purposes when I get bored. I prefer informal styles and detached light-blocking linings, convenient since I'm no seamstress. The public library has DIY curtains books, free when returned on time. DIY has been a satisfyingly creative way for me to get the curtains I want.
Anyone know where the two armchairs might be from?